Uechi-Ryu.com

"The title is "Explosive Uechi-ryu" and the moderator is Arthur Rabesa. Art will be exploring the power contained in Uechi-ryu that is not appreciated by the average practitioner. Make no mistake - this forum is for the serious martial artist and I wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone who really wants to tap his or her explosive power potential.

NOTE: Shorts and T-shirt are worn to better illustrate joint angles and the torquing action of the major muscle groups.

SHOW TIME:

Okay, lets get into the nuts and bolts of this power thing.
I'll show as many views as will allow to illustrate the areas of body mechanics as it relates to power. I've also added some training suggestions to help your power progress. My thought is that you take it nice and easy if you decide to put anything here into practice.

Understand the mechanics and the correct feeling of power first. Then you can try the training aids in this manual or any others that you might come up with. It's going to take a little time to get into that real explosiveness you seek, so be patient.

For those of you who are hitting pretty hard right now, a little extra power and understanding might put you at another level in your training. Before we get to the heavy bag or striking mitts, lets look at some mechanics of the punch:

PHOTO #1 is the familiar front fight-
ing position. This set up allows for
easier body alignment as the deliv-
ery takesplace. Foundation should
be comfortable with the trunk being
the control center.

Arms are comfortably held with
the elbows simply hanging at the
side. Do not force the arms in. Let
them hangwhere they want to.
Try to keep your hands close to each
other at all times for power and
alignment into the next series of
strikes. As your arms hang com-
fortably the muscles of the upper
back will slip into position.

Don't restrict this muscle group
from doing what it wants to do
naturally. Let your trunk sit under
you comfortably with the upper
torso simply resting on it. The hip
area is loose and free, readying
itself for the torquing explosion
that is about to take place.

PHOTO #IA: is the beginning of the
short body punch. Here we see
the right hand beginning its close with
the right shoulder rolling into position.
The hand does not tighten quite yet.

This is one aspect of power hitting
that will take time. Knowing that
speed is essential in power hitting,
you do not want the limb tightening
too soon. If the fist tightens
prematurely, everything breaks
down. The hard tight fist has to
wait until the action depicted in
Photo 1B takes place. The arm
now slides under and along the
body with the elbow riding just on
top of the now torquing right hip.
You'll notice that the hand is still
at the same height in all three
photos. That is a major key in the
muscle and bone alignment.....a
solid powerful arrow off the even
stronger bow. Don't you love it
when I get philosophical? The
right hip and right knee is begin-
ning to torque, enabling the large
trunk muscles to coordinate with
the muscles of the back. This will
fire the arm forward with tremen-
dous power. The only thing you
will have to do is keep the limb in its
correct path.

Photo#1B: This is the impact area of the body punch. The complete cooridina-
tion of all the large muscle groups take place here. The striking hand is still in
its same position, but it is now being exploded into the impact area by the back
and trunk muscles. (see illustration #1)

One important factor here is that the striking arm never gets to any extended
position. Every bit of power is generated by the back and torquing trunk
muscles. Notice the inward turn of the rear leg and right hip. Tightening the fist just
before impact.

In this way the limb is not hampered by resistance of tightening muscle
fibers. Everything is now in one big explosive piece at impact.

Here is how it looks on target.
The slight arc of the punch and
the explosive torque will take
this punch to the egg shell
section of the target. That is the
area just south of the nipple
and just north of the abdoman.
This punch has an almost
uncanny way of getting to this
area. You will no doubt notice
the closeness of this delivery.
That is the area of no return.
Once you have exploded into
this area you've got to go to
work. This is blue collar
territory here folks.

Notice in PHOTO 5A that the fist
is in line with the shoulder and
back muscles. The fist must stick
to the body and continue through
with it's power. Remember, this is
sparring so the punch is not snapped
in and out of there. You also cannot
hit your partner like this realistically.
This is the job for the heavy bag.

Like your self I connect every thing I do back to sanchin ,anyway my point to you is your use of the fist's ,unlike what various senior posters advocate ,no regular seikan in uechi-ryu ,more like nukite's ,boshiken's etc.

I have never commented on subject in the past ,thinking I see things quite different from the sanchin perspective .

To get into your mode of power in a waiting and stationary position is not that difficult. To explode from that position and take that power position with you is something that many have difficulty with. Move quickly to the target while maintaining the muscle groupings and striking to and through the impact area.
It is very difficult to regain the mode of power once you have lost it along the path to the target. You get a kind of bouncing movement instead of a straight explosion. Not only is this raising and lowering movement decreasing the hitting power, but it enables you to become an easier target yourself. You strive to cover that small distance like a shot with all your power intact.
Its not the distance you cover that's important; it's how quick you do it. To move 3 feet in a blur and hitting with explosive results is much better than covering 7 feet like a slug and hitting with a push.
One of the best ways to practice taking the power with you is throug kata training. (Prearranged movement "sets" that make up the heart of karate). To do the "power kata" is the first real step to hitting a target with explosive power. When you finish a series of movements in your
kata, and are about to move into the next series, what do you do? Do you regain your composure and sort of relax before moving? Do you think of that dark unspoken area between kata movements as unimportant or just a position to pass through on your way to some more blocking, punching, or kicking? Snap out of it! How strong is a chain if all the parts that link it together are weak? I think I've made my point.
That same strength that you feel in the blocking, punching, or kicking part of the kata is the same power that you should feel passing through another series of movements. If you can do the power kata, then you should be able to incorporate what this power manual is trying to get you to do.

PHOTOS #6,#6A,#6B
This is the same body punch from a different perspective. When we talk of exploding the strike, we must first get there so we can deliver it. In my KUMITE book, I brought this out, but, I'll run through it once again. The same principle holds true for moving forward as it does for delivering the strike.
The large muscle groups work as one to fire your body into the impact area. This is real difficult to grasp because you can't see the speed of this movement in pictures. I called this the "running punch" in my first book for lack of another name. Actually it's more of a sliding movement.
Keeping the center under you all the way through and into the impact area is needed here. Notice the trunk position as the back leg fires forward. The firing hand remains intact throughout this movement. It's the forward movement of the body that actually makes contact. The fist just happens to be leading the way. This is a powerful movement because you add your body weight along with the already powerful hitting mechanics that you now know.

PHOTOS #6C. 6D, 6E:
By having this resistance all the way through your striking move, you will understand where the flaws are. Your partner will be able to tell where your strong and weak spots are. In this way you'll increase your understanding of power movement. Do not have too much resistance as you travel through your movement. An over zealous partner will hamper your understanding. A
nice easy pressure placed on your fist is all that is required as demonstrated in photos 6C, 6D and 6E.

PHOTOS #7,#7A,#7B
Here is another view of the sliding or running punch. Notice how the arced punch slips under the opposing elbow.
The sliding/running punch is very hard to explain here, but if you can learn this movement you will find, as I have, that there is no way an opponent can stop you. This is my bread and butter and I can make it look easy, but, it is not an easy movement to learn. I am showing a body punch here, but in using that attack you can use an elbow, a hook punch or any strike that feels good to you. The thing is, you have to cover the ground, to get in there. It's easy if you let your opponent come to you, but, going forward your strike is much stronger. I SAY THIS TO YOU,, I will not be stopped. It's very hard to tell you how to do this movement. If see you at summer camp I'll be glad to demonstrate it for you. If you have my KUMITE book, The sliding punch is on page 41.

In answering any question about using my fist. The fist is used more when you are outside the infighting range. Your more powerful strikes are not delivered with the fist.
See you next week, go practice.
Art

" To get into your mode of power in a waiting or stationary is not that difficult " Very true ,but its only half of Kanbuns Ikyoroko concept ,but put lengths of training time to it and it takes on a whole different ball game .

Kanbun " Very few students survived this test of patience " power yes but patience no .

Kanbun " Because I had nothing else to work on my thrust became very strong ".

For me the double thrusts are the most powerfull ,yet no one appears to use them .

kanbun open's one half of the explosive power concept ,why didn't he the whole concept straight away?.

"To explode from that position and take the power position with you is something that many have difficulty with ".

Very true .

In the kanbun methodology this had already been halfway prepared for ,the true formulation for the uechi body structure was already in growth ,without any aids from weights of any kind or any other mode of training ,the uechi body and the first part of power training was under way ,in contrast to what you say ,the the explosive step would be aided by the growth of the uechi body which would speed up the explosiveness of coming out of the opening .in some respects like a greyhound or pitbull terrier exploding across the scratch mark to get to grips with his adversary or get into to lead postion .

Photo #8, appears to be the same beginning as the past illustrations. That's because it is. When you carry your hands in that front comfortable manner, you are able to roll right into another area. The torque of the hips and a slight lowering of the left side take the punch over the opposing shoulder. This is not only very powerful but extremely difficult to detect. Once again, this punch and drives through the target. You can easily double up your punches from this power base. To go from the body punch to the head is easy once the power base is established. Do not retract the fist too far after the body punch and simply roll right over the shoulder of the target onto or near the area of the ear. Grasping hard with the other hand and firing punches into different parts of the target will become second nature.

PHOTOS 9, 9A

Here I'm taking it directly up the middle. The head shot takes off with an explosion when fired from the power base. With the beginning segment being the same as the past descriptions, the punch rolls to the inside keeping the forearm tight to the biceps. The fist will travel a little higher when the target is taller than you. The power principle remains intact however.
No lifting or flying out of your power base when the punch is delivered. The forearm stays real close to the target's chest during delivery. Don't allow the arm to sail upward on impact. The arm will only go as far as the power base allows it to. That is all the power you'll need on this punch.

PHOTOS #10,1OA,10B:
Some punching mitts add some spice to the power striking practice. Here the left punch is being fired with the left leg forward. I guess in boxing terms this would be called a left hook. Anytime you''re firing a blow from the same side, the mechanics really have to be intact. Here is where the trunk really torques into the blow. From the normal front position; the left shoulder and left hip roll under. With this muscle mass rolling, the
left arm is taken forward in a very tight arc. You should detect the one piece coordinated effect upon impact. This punch is very fast and hits very hard. It will be very difficult to stick your fist to these punching mitts upon impact. The mitts might fly when you hit them with these blows. To keep in good body alignment, rip these punches back toward you as in photo #10B. This will stop you from getting into bad habits as the punching hand flies outward when the mitt takes off. You can see from photo 11B how a quick left roll of the hips and shoulders will takeyou right into a right punch. These punching mitts are great for multiple punching training.

I actually let it fly in the next two photos. I told you it was quick. Check the ripping motion of the left arm back to the body after impact. Remember, one piece movement, go through the target and keep within the power mode.

Here is a little back punch drill you may want to play with. These striking mitts allow your partner to move around as you fire the back punch.

In Photo 11D, you will notice the looseness of the front hand. This open hand allows you more speed in delivery. You've got to close the hand just before contact and continue the strike through the mitt. I'll be bringing this strike back later for a closer look.

PHONE BOOTH POWER:
Can you manage to generate the power I've been speaking of in a phone booth? Let me rephrase that question. How's your power up close? I mean REAL close. After all, that's the distance where the talking stops and the show begins. OK, lets run through some power strikes and the training involved for phone booth power. So far I've gone over the power punch and the mechanics of its delivery. You have noticed the shortness of the punch and how to generate stopping power from that distance. That is what phone booth power is. You can see the distance between the actual strike and the target and just how close everything is. Clearing out the large muscle groups and rolling them into the short tight strike iswhat it takes to hit hard while in a phone booth.

FAST TWITCH:

In the world of sports' physiology there is a term used called the fast twitch muscle. The term slow twitch is also used but we don't want anything to do with that one. Fast twitch muscle is the reaction time that most great athletes seem to have. The arm or leg just seem to appear from nowhere like a shot. The great sprinters like Carl Lewis have the fast twitch muscle fibers. That's why he explodes down the runway in the long jump or the 100 meters. Sugar Ray has these fast twitch fibers. That explains his hand speed in boxing. Some of us have this type of muscle fiber and some of us do not. That is the reason for learning the phone booth strikes. Decrease the distance from your hands and feet to the target. The shorter your strike has to go the faster it will get there. The power is there but you have to work and understand the power method. The hands might
not actually be faster, they're simply taking a short cut.

I'm pretty sure there are no fast twitch muscle transplants occurring in the medical world as yet. Until that time, you'll just have to play the hand that was dealt you. By the way, those with slow twitch muscles make good long distance runners.

OPEN HAND POWER:

Here are some other hand strikes that can be very powerful from avery short distance. You might come to realize that these open hand strikes are hitting even harder than your punch. I feel that way. You can generate more speed and power when the hand is not closed in a fist. The one major concern of any open hand strike is the injury to the hand upon impact. Here are some suggestions that will prevent hand injuries while supplying the needed power. Since the wrist is the joint that comes into play the most lets concentrate on that. This sliding joint must be locked down and in a solid position when impact is made. It is either locked back or down depending on the strike. The knife edge (shuto) strike callsfor the wrist joint to be lockedback upon impact. Hitting with the extreme lower section of the hand, incorporating the forearm into the blow will give power and security to the wrist joint. The wrist joint is the fulcrum about which the hand moves.
The following photos show this tight powerful strike.

PHOTOS #12.12A,12B:

From the front foundation, roll the back and trunk muscles into the strike. You'll notice that it looks very much like the beginning ofthe body or head punch. The striking hand remains open with the wrist locked in the back position. The elbow is fired inward toward the target with the forearm actually trailing. The hand is the very last section of this strike that moves. This sets up a whip-like action with the elbow acting as the power base.

All the major muscle groups for power remain in the power base position all the way through the strike. You'll notice that the blow is striking the entire side of the head from just above the ear to below the level of the jaw. This creates atremendous impactto the area. It almost looks like a forearm strike but the hand and wrist do make contact. The forearm helps lock the wrist and hand into a one piece strike giving it the strong hitting surface.

This is called "overloading." The term means that the whole arm is used to strike a small area. This sets up quite an explosion. This works. real well for taller targets because the strike slides right up into the impact area.

I will not be posting next week as I will be out of town. So practice up and I'll see you in a couple weeks.
Art

Here is a little practice drill that helps develope this strike. You have no doubt used this strike on the heavy bag in your training. I have a tiny bag that I like to use for certain strikes. This bag enables me to feel the impact better when I drive it in. You can hold it on the bag longer after the strike makes contact.
Get real close to the bag before you let it go. You'll notice that the left hand is almost touching the bag. Your training partner can let you know if the strike is generating through the bag. The heavy bag can't tell you anything. In Photo 13A you'll notice the right elbow seeking the inside route with the right hand just trailing along. At this point the hand is almost touching the bag. The remaining movement is the job of the back and trunk muscles as they roll into the impact.
Please notice the hand position on impact (13B). Most of the hand is not making any contact at all. Only the lower palm area close to the wrist is making contact.

PHOTOS #14.14A.14B.14C.
The wrist is really an overlooked part of the body with all the other powerful weapons we can use. When locked in place, this is a very powerful, quick and accurate strike.The real beauty of perfecting power with the wrist strike is Impact area the tightness of it. When you've practiced this strike from the power mode, it might become one of your real favorites. In a grappling situation when distance is at a premium, this becomes quite handy. The arms being bent, due to the tightness, enables this strike to explode up into the side of the jaw. The striking hand can actually ride along the target's body into the impact area. The movement of the arm is delivered in a tight quick arc to generate the cobra like snap needed here. When the elbow is fired inward, the slight arc of this strike will occur. Notice the beginning of the wrist strike in photo #14. It is actually touching the chest. It will ride the attacker's body (14A) with the snapping action of the arm and the locking of the wrist.
At impact, the wrist is locked down with the small finger heading toward the forearm (14B). The blow is aided by a fast slight torque of the trunk. The impact is on the underside of the jawline and is carried upward and slightly to the outside. This quick strike will not only free you from the closeness of the situation, but will allow you time to set up another series of blows. If they are needed. Photo #14C gives another view of this wrist strike. Note the forearm and it's closeness to the chest and the actual impact section of the jaw line. In order to make contact to this section of the attacker's jaw a slight arc is needed. Keep it as close to the ear as possible for best stopping results.

Bill, I'd suggest starting a new thread with each week's post. For me that picture site is sometimes quite slow, so the pictures in the latest week's post take several minutes to load because it's busy loading all the pictures from previous posts.

Thanks for the suggestion Mike. I was thinking this continuous posting we are doing could cause problems. Art knows nothing about what and where and I am not much better. Any suggestions like this are greatly appreciated, especially by ME. LOL. Maybe someday I will be a whiz at this, like when I'm 95 or so. (-: We'll do better next week. Thanks again.
Bill

In this shot the defender's position is "wrong"..for lack of a better term..

The success of this (ABF) attack depends on the position of the defender. In this case his bad position (body not facing, no elbow/bridge structure; no forward pressure; etc) should have been--could have been changed to address the attack.. Otherwise the defender is just remaining in a static position.

The attack begins with the lead bridging of the attacker issuing force into the defender's structure.. That can work but reaching for the opponent's lead (hand chasing) can be risky--because in that instant the attack is only a reach--the reach for the bridge is a "dead beat" (yin) and can be countered with a stop hit or hits.. There are also several other cooler energy counters--like tan to pak da which would work nicely.. One of the key's to working in this range is to avoid relying on sight and instead rely on feel and sensitivity to the opponent's position and energy.

ShaolinM Y V T K F"Receive what comes, stay with what goes, upon loss of contact attack the line" – The Kuen Kuit

In response to your statement, Jim. As I've stated many times, you can only do so much with photos and a written word. I'll be at summer camp this summer to demonstrate on a more realistic level. Hope to see you there.
Once again! You can only do so much with the posed picture. I am the first one to admit that you can't learn that much from pictures, books, or the written word. Anyone, with even a little bit of marshal arts training can look at any martial arts book with a critical eye. I do the best I can.
Art

Any *fixed* attack has a weakness.. Any attack has counters to that attack.. I'm sure you'd agree with that...no? A fixed attack is a frozen moment in time--it can't adapt.. Another way is to train to attack and then adapt with the resistance that will come...and change, like the river, which is never frozen, rather it continues to flow and adapt.. In this way of thinking there is no single action, single technique but rather continuity in all things..

The ability to counter or adapt to any given Attack By Force, which uses contact to gain position is best trained by developing tactile awareness and tactile adaptation, which is much faster than responding to visual cues.. I spent years training those very kinds of tactics.. One of the keys is developing reactions that instantly use the contact initiated by the opponent against him--it's about position and energy.. These are very real skills that can fit in with any kind of contact or connected ABF methods..

But IMO much can be learned from pictures, words, video and also years of training. Tactically analyzing methods--any methods--IMO should certainly be of value to those interested in applying them.

ShaolinM Y V T K F"Receive what comes, stay with what goes, upon loss of contact attack the line" – The Kuen Kuit

Thank you for your input Mr. Hawkins. I'll be at George Mattson's summer camp this summer, hopefully you can show me how you counter my movements. Hopefully I'll see you this summer. I am always interested in learning.
Art

caddybill wrote:Thank you for your input Mr. Hawkins. I'll be at George Mattson's summer camp this summer, hopefully you can show me how you counter my movements. Hopefully I'll see you this summer. I am always interested in learning. Art

Sorry I don't mean to be "challenging" or make things "personal"...

I am simply addressing training concepts and tactics, something that interests me.. These tactics are how I train, how I've been trained and exist outside of what I can or what any given person "can do" or not with any other person--that is individually specific not tactically specific. Regardless, if I can "counter your movements" or if you can counter mine, doesn't change the tactics involved, the tactical options available or the methods/concepts of training or using such things..

I enjoy sharing my experience and discussing tactical ideas--the kind I have specialized in particularly so--for the sake of discussion--not to meet up for a challenge match to "prove" the validity of each and every tactic, concept or movement I mention.. If adding my own thoughts are unwanted here simply say so and I'll stop commenting..

ShaolinM Y V T K F"Receive what comes, stay with what goes, upon loss of contact attack the line" – The Kuen Kuit